Studying in China to operate Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway

Jamlik Mwangi Kariuki studies engineering at Beijing’ s Jiaotong University.

He is among the thousands of Kenyans who’ve benefited from scholarships to pursue advanced studies in China since the nations established bilateral ties in 1963.

Kariuki came to Beijing after the launch of the Kenya-China standard-gauge railway project.

“When this was being constructed, we had a very good railway, a modern railway. But Kenya lacked the capacity to be able to operate and maintain the railway. That’s when the government of Kenya and the government of the People’s Republic of China came together and decided that they’re going to sponsor 100 young Kenyans to come and study engineering courses, so that they would go back and be able to run the operations and maintenance of the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway. I was one of them.”

Thrilled by the opportunity to study overseas, Kariuki and other students wrote a letter to Chinese President Xi to express their gratitude.

“When you are thanking somebody, most often you give them a gift or something. So I sent him a train ticket from Nairobi to Mombasa and invited His Excellency President Xi Jinping to experience the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway,” he said.

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One year later, the students received a warm reply from Xi that encouraged them to continue contributing to the friendship between China and Kenya, and between China and Africa.

This further motivated Kairbuki: “I just want to become a bridge. And how do I become a bridge? I must be able to be conversant to the culture of both, let me say Africa and China. I have to be conversant with the knowledge gaps. What knowledge does China have? What can you get from China? What can China get from us? This exchange, I want to facilitate such type of exchange.”

The train linking the capital city Nairobi and major port city Mombasa (SGR) opened to traffic in 2017.

In the financial year to June 2023, it contributed to about 2 % of the country’s GDP.

The Standard Gauge Railway, cost $4.7 billion borrowed from Chinese banks. The government has struggled with low uptake of its cargo services.

Last May, Kenya secured a commitment from China’s Exim Bank for the funding of the standard gauge railway line from Naivasha, north-west of Nairboi, to the Uganda border.